Elemental Evaluation of Cereals Commonly Used in Nigeria Using Neutron Activation Analysis.

Abstract

The concentrations of twenty elements in ten cereals types commonly consumed in Nigeria were determined using Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA). The elements are Al, As, Ba, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Th, V, Zn and the cereals are beans, guinea corn (red and white), maize (white and yellow), millet, rice (basmatic, foreign, and local) and wheat. The results obtained for these elements were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limits. This showed that the concentrations of all the heavy metals studied (Co, Fe, La, Mn, Sm, Th, V, Zn) and some of the mineral elements (Ca, K, Mg, Na) in the cereal samples were below WHO permissible limits except wheat that showed a higher value in Mg (2.309 %) compared with the WHO permissible limit of 0.139 %. The levels of the twenty elements in the cereals did not exceed their permissible levels and are therefore safe for human consumption.